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Early life[edit]

Messick was born Donald Earl Messick in Buffalo, New York, the son of Binford Earl Messick, a house painter, and Lena Birch (née Hughes).[1]

Career[edit]

At first, Messick wanted to be a ventriloquist, and even supported himself as one for a time. His big break came in the mid-1940s. At MGM, Tex Avery was producing the Droopy cartoons. The regular voice actor Bill Thompson was not available. Daws Butler, who voiced characters for MGM, suggested that Avery seek out Messick, and so, he was hired to voice Droopy.

He and Butler became a voice acting team for the Hanna-Barbera unit in 1957 with the arrival of Ruff and Reddy. Don was Ruff the cat and the Droopy-sounding Professor Gizmo. Butler was the southern-speaking dog, Reddy. Messick also narrated the show, which played out like an animated soap opera. Beginning in September,1958, Messick played Tadpole in the animated television series produced by Beverly Hills Productions, Spunky and Tadpole.

Messick was used primarily for his narration skills, which were heard on many of those cartoons in which Daws Butler starred. In narrating the Yogi Bear cartoons, he also voiced Ranger Smith in something close to his natural voice.

The actor would eventually star as Ricochet Rabbit in Ricochet Rabbit (1964–65), while Deputy Droop-a-Long, was voiced by Mel Blanc.

In outer space cartoons, Messick created noises and sounds for weird space creatures and aliens. His Ranger Smith voice was often heard as various space villains. His narrator voice was given to Vapor Man, Dr. Benton Quest, The Perilous Paper Doll Man, and Multi Man, Hong Kong Phooey (1974), where he was also Spot the cat, a faithful sidekick, and Laff-A-Lympics (1977–79).

Scooby Doo and later roles[edit]

In 1969, he was cast as the cowardly canine Scooby-Doo on Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!. He voiced him through all of the various versions of Scooby-Doo: on television in numerous formats from 1969 to 1985, four television films, and a number of commercials as well. In 1970, he voiced Sebastian on Josie and the Pussycats, and reprised the role in its spin-off two years later, as well as voicing the new alien character, Bleep Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space. In 1977, Don Messick lent his vocal talents to several characters in the first cartoon adaptation of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. From 1980-1988, he voiced Scooby's nephew, Scrappy-Doo, having taken over the role originated by Lennie Weinrib in 1979 and was still voicing Scooby-Doo when A Pup Named Scooby-Doo came along from 1988-1991.

Also in the 1995 Freakazoid episode "Toby Danger - Doomsday Bet", a spoof of Jonny Quest, he played Dr. Vernon Danger, a parody of his own Dr. Benton Quest.

At a charity speaking engagement in London, shortly before his death, he performed many of his characters, except Scooby Doo. He claimed that giving up smoking had robbed him of the rasp in the voice that he needed.